Creating a balanced, effective hip-opening sequence is simple if you know how the hip muscles are laid out. When you don’t have for a map for their hips, you’re at a higher risk for overstretching your hamstrings and external rotators compared to your hip flexors and adductors. Teachers make this mistake in their sequencing regularly and, as a result, hamstring insertion injuries are one of the most prevalent injuries in modern yoga.

If you haven’t read them already, start with Yoga and Your Hips, Part I and Part II . The model of the “5 Muscular Compartments of Your Hips” in Parts I & II is the same approach that I take when I teach anatomy live and online. (And If you want to learn even more about yoga anatomy and yoga sequencing, you can join me in my yoga anatomy course or yoga sequencing course.)

The sequence here contains my three of favorite postures for each compartment of your hip. I practice this sequence several times a week and I still love the feeling of space and mobility it gives me. I hope it helps you feel good in your body, too!

One quick thing before the sequence breakdown: If you’d like to be among the first to know about our new posts, sign up for our newsletter. As a thank you, we’ll send you a free arm balance guide, plus 5 sequences that are not on the blog!

Hip Compartment #2: Adductors

Pose 2: Prasarita Padottanasana with bent knee
Bending one knee and pressing your forearm against your thigh allows you to create a deep, sustained stretch on the entire adductor group.

Pose 3: Bound Side Angle
The action of binding in this posture provides you with a shoulder opener in addition to the adductor stretch.

Hip Compartment #3: Hamstrings

Pose 1: Parsvottanasana
This foundational standing pose allows you to focus on stretching one set of hamstrings at a time. This may be more effective for students with tight hamstrings than stretching both sets of hamstrings at time like you do in Uttanasana.

You guys are hands down my favourite go-to online yogis for intelligent anatomical advice and sequencing. Living in deepest darkest rural France I can feel cut off from great teachers so you really do shine a light. One day I will get to one of your trainings in London. Until then, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your hard work and dedication to making yoga teachers the best possible conduit for the miracle that is yoga. Namaste xxx

Thanks for presenting intelligent sequences that are approachable to most students. Your ‘nuts and bolts’ style of teaching presents wonderful means to work on various parts of the body.
Namaste, Lynne

I really like the Yoga pose sequence from you both, wish some days both of you can make class for Yoga Training in Indonesia.
My favorite sequence is Arms Balance , love it an I always teach it in my Yoga class.
Thank you for sharing

I’ve been watching your videos for over 7 years starting with Yoga Journal and now on Yogaglo. I recommend your videos to everyone I can. My question is about hip replacement. I had my right hip replaced almost 10 years ago, I’m 64, very, very active with biking, hiking, climbing & backpacking. My orthopedic surgeon is not supportive of yoga but I love it and try to practice at least 3 times/week. How do I protect my hip or where can I find accurate information on poses that are harmful vs beneficial? Thank you.

Andrea Ferretti and Jason Crandell are a husband and wife team who have been teaching, writing about, and living their yoga for nearly two decades. Andrea is creative director for Jason Crandell Yoga Method. Jason is an internationally recognized vinyasa yoga teacher. They live together in San Francisco with their full-time boss, Sofia-Rose Crandell, age 6. To find out where you can train with Jason live, check out the Schedule page.